My phone buzzed in my hand, startling me. Peering at the caller ID, I saw Drake’s name flashing on the screen.
“Hello?” I answered warily, a pit forming in my stomach. He never called me, preferring instead to text. Something must be wrong. “Charlie, where are you?” His voice was rushed, breathless, like he was running.
“I’m just getting back from a meeting – why, what’s wrong? Is Liam okay? What’s going on, Drake?” My worry grew.
“I need to see you,” he replied, not answering any of my questions. If something had happened to Liam, I would already know about it, I rationalized. If it wasn’t Liam, then what would make him call me? He knows, I thought, thinking of my still-unsaid feelings for him. Oh, god, what if Olivia told him?
My voice shook as I spoke. “I can come to you. Tell me where you are.” This was all coming to a head and I didn’t want Liam to walk in on us as I confessed my feelings for Drake. I still had no clue how I would explain myself to Liam, but I needed to tell Drake, wanted to.
“Meet me at our place,” he said simply, hanging up the phone.
I changed direction, having been headed for our apartment. My heels clicked loudly on the marble floors, in time with the racing of my heart. Striding purposefully toward the seldom-used library in the opposite wing of the palace, my heart soared and fell alternatively, anticipating Drake’s reaction.
Again, I felt my phone buzzing, this time Liam calling, and I contemplated not answering, my thumb hovering over “ignore call.” I knew if I did that, however, he would just call back, and I needed to speak to Drake without interruption.
“Hello?”
My voice shook slightly, betraying my heightened emotions. Liam took no notice, though, nearly shouting at me over the line.
“Charlotte! Where are you?” he cried, panic lacing his voice. I stopped in the middle of the hallway, the worry I’d felt when Drake called returning, full-force. The similarities between their tone, their words, confirmed that something was going on. “Have you spoken to Drake?” he demanded. I knew I couldn’t very well tell him that I was on my way to meet his best friend and confess my love for him.
“No, I haven’t.”
Liam’s sigh of relief further confirmed that they were keeping something from me. Something I knew instinctively would hurt me.
“Please, Charlotte, meet me at our apartment,” he pleaded, “I need to see you.”
His words dripped with barely-concealed fear, further cementing the notion that Liam had a secret he didn’t want me to know. “I’ll see you soon, Liam,” I replied evenly. Before my husband could speak further, I disconnected the call, still standing in the empty corridor. Two men, one one each end of the hall, waiting for me. My husband and his best friend, both of whom I desperately loved, sharing a secret that each wanted to be the first to divulge. My feet moved of their own accord, following my heart.
Reaching my destination, I twisted the knob and pushed the heavy door inward. He stood just inside, his back to me, but I could see the tense set of his shoulders. Hearing me enter, he swung around, concern and fear in his eyes.
“What’s going on?” I whispered, my gut clenching with worry.
He crossed to me, taking my face in his warm hands, his touch calming me. “I need to tell you something,” he said, staring in my eyes. I nodded, not trusting my voice to reply. He led me by the hand to the small couch and we sat, silent, while his thumb brushed gently over my knuckles. My phone broke our reverie, buzzing where I’d sat it on the small table inside the door. I rose to retrieve it, knowing who was calling, but he stopped me.
“Please, don’t,” he begged. I turned to him, pulling my hand from his grasp. “Tell me what’s going on, now, or I’m leaving,” I demanded.
He stood and faced me, his eyes shining with emotion. My heart pounded in my chest as his hand brushed an errant strand of hair from my face, his gaze lingering on mine.
“I am so completely in love with you Charlotte, that I can’t even think straight,” Drake’s voice shook as he maintained eye contact. I felt my own eyes tearing up, the intensity of my emotions overwhelming me. “I spend every day waiting to see you, or talk to you, and even though it kills me that you love Liam, that you chose him over me, all I ever wanted was for you to be happy.”
His eyes clouded over with anger, and I trembled, afraid of what he would say next. “I knew he could give you things that I couldn’t, so I stayed away from you. Liam took you away from me once, but now, I’m fighting for you.” Drake paused, swallowing thickly, and I took the opportunity to confess my own secret.
“Drake, I–”
The door flew open and Liam stormed into the room, eyes wild. They landed on Drake and I a few feet away, standing together intimately, tears in my eyes. His face fell, taking us in, before defiance filled his features.
“Get away from my wife,” he growled, aggression dripping from each word. I had never heard Liam speak to anyone like this, let alone Drake. I took a step toward my husband.
“Liam, I can ex–”
“Tell her the fucking truth Liam, or I’m going to,” Drake cut me off, moving to stand protectively in front of me. I looked from one man to another, each of them so important to me, to each other, and instinctively knew what was going on. Drake’s confession, telling me that he would fight for me, Liam begging me to come to him, trying to circumvent Drake … it all suddenly made sense, realization settling in my stomach like a cancer.
“No …,” I whispered, shaking my head as I watched Liam’s face crumble. “Why?” I cried, tears spilling over my lashes. Liam looked at me, unable to deny what I already knew to be true. “Why, Liam?!” I shouted, rushing toward him and raining my fists down on his chest, each blow bouncing off fruitlessly. What had I done? What hadn’t I done? Was this because we hadn’t …?
“Who is it?” I whimpered, needing to know the answer as badly as I dreaded hearing it. Drake pulled me back, away from Liam, away from the man I loved, the man who I thought loved me. “Answer me!” I shrieked, my voice sounding foreign to my ears. Liam flinched and took a step back, tears he’d been holding back now running down his face, unchecked. He took a deep breath, his blue eyes, still so full of love for me, meeting mine.
“Charlotte, I’m so sorry,” he whispered, weeping openly. “I tried, so hard, to be who you need, who you deserve, but I can’t, I’m so weak.” He dropped to his knees, burying his face in his hands. My legs shook as understanding washed over me. My husband, who I thought hung the sun and the moon, had been unfaithful to me. Everything we’d gone through to be together, all the struggles, the joy when we’d finally been able to wed, to share the life we’d dreamed about, the last few years of my life spent loving him …
All of it now meant nothing.
I watched Liam cry, a broken man, and steeled myself for the questions I needed answered. “How many?” I ground out through gritted teeth. I wasn’t stupid; I saw the way women threw themselves at their king. If he had indulged himself once, he had done it again. I stepped away from Drake’s warmth and walked slowly to Liam, rage burning in my chest.
“How. Many.”
My husband heaved a sigh, a sob escaping his throat. “Six.”
My hand flew up to cover my mouth; whatever I’d expected Liam to say, it wasn’t that. One transgression, perhaps, maybe two? But six? Six women he’d needed so badly that he threw our marriage away, gave no thought to destroying me? I couldn’t comprehend acting so cavalier.
“When?” I choked out, strangled by his infidelity. Liam lifted his eyes to mine and I knew. I knew exactly when it had begun, knew exactly who he’d chosen to assist him in breaking me forever. The one woman I could never forgive.
“Oh my god … Madeleine?”
I shook my head and fell to the floor, sobs shaking my frame. “Charlie!” Drake shouted, following me to the plush carpet. His arms wrapped around me, holding me to his chest as I bawled. Liam knelt only feet away from me, though he might as well be on a different planet. Everything I thought we had, that he felt for me, gone.
“I love you, Charlotte, please believe me,” Liam called to me beseechingly. I shook my head and buried my face deeper in Drake’s chest, my tears dampening the soft fabric of his shirt. I heard Liam crying softly as well, the room filled with the sounds of our heartbreak. I took a deep breath and pulled away from Drake, closing my eyes against the pain that had taken root in my chest. It took everything I had in me to open my eyes, to look at the man I loved, the man who had just destroyed me. “Liam, I love you,” I whispered. His eyes flicked up to mine, hope shining in them.
“But I can’t forgive you.”
Liam’s face crumpled as my words sunk in, realizing what this meant for us. “Please, Charlotte, I’m so sorry, I can’t live without you,” he cried, curled into himself, kneeling on the floor. I left the safety of Drake’s arms and stood, my legs barely supporting me. Years of being at court had taught me to face adversity with courage and conviction, even when I was dying inside. If there was ever a time I needed to summon this strength, it was now.
“All I’ve ever done is love you, Liam,” I began, willing my voice not to shake. He looked at me, eyes bloodshot, face red and tear-stained, looking everything like a ruined man. I took a deep breath and continued.
“I gave up my entire life to be with you. My reputation was ruined, I was dragged through the mud by the media and the court, I stayed by your side when the only thing you could promise me was the hope of being your mistress. I love you Liam, I always have and I always will. But this? How could you do this to me? To us? Was I not enough for you? I didn’t love you enough? You just needed to prove that women still wanted you? Then why her? Why Madeleine?”
A sob ripped from my chest and Drake moved to hold me again. I held up a hand to stop him, gathering myself, and he paused behind me.
“You know how I feel about her, how ruthless she is and what she’s done to me. And now you tell me it all started that long ago? On that horrible tour where I cried over you every night, where I ignored every other man who looked my way, because I wanted to save all of my love for you? While my heart was breaking, you were fucking Madeleine.” I laughed bitterly and shook my head, tilting back to look at the ceiling.
“Charlotte, please, I swear–”
“No more lies, Liam,” I said tiredly. I motioned for him to stand, crossing my arms over my chest as he did so. “I need some time. To figure out what this means, for us and for the monarchy. I am still Queen, and I love Cordonia. I won’t give her up so easily. Besides,” I continued, “I haven’t been completely honest with you either.”
A look of confusion spread across Liam’s face. I turned to Drake, still standing behind me, and gave him a sad smile.
“I should have chosen you, Walker. That night, in Paris, before Bastien found Tariq, before Liam ended the engagement? I should have run away with you then. I should have listened to what my heart was telling me, that you were where I belonged. I think I’ve been in love with you ever since. I love you both. And now …”
A tear slipped down my cheek and Drake reached out to wipe it away. “Charlie,” his whispered, his eyes never leaving mine. I shook my head and stepped back. “I can’t now, Drake, I’m sorry. This is … everything is …” I shook my head, looking between the the two men. It was all too much and I needed to escape.
“I … just can’t.”
With that, I grabbed my phone from where I placed it and left the library, tears still glittering in my eyes but managing to find the strength I needed to walk away from both of them. I strode toward our wing, scrolling through the contacts on my phone until I found the one I needed, the one person who would never judge me for running away.
“Charlotte?” The voice on the other end asked cautiously. I couldn’t blame them, we hardly ever talked. I took a steadying breath.
“I need to get away for awhile. When are you leaving?”